


Distrust

by miraimisu



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pocket Monsters: Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon | Pokemon Ultra Sun & Ultra Moon Versions
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/M, Gladion being an edgy jerk par for the course, Hurt & Comfort (sort of), injuries, tending injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-09
Updated: 2020-06-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:54:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24628882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraimisu/pseuds/miraimisu
Summary: “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” — Ernest Hemingway.
Relationships: Gladio | Gladion/Moon
Comments: 8
Kudos: 25





	Distrust

**Author's Note:**

> In my path to writer enlightment, I'm training with the lovely Daidairo and I wrote this in like 45 minutes (a lil' more) and the ma'am beta'd this for me too, which made it 120% better, so thank you ma'am!! 
> 
> **Read her stuff[here!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Daidairo/pseuds/Daidairo)**

When Moon enters the small motel room in Route 8, she's beyond surprised at what she finds. The lady at the hall had told her that the room should be empty, yet she stumbles with Gladion and his chimera, sitting in a corner of the room.

Rain sprays into the room and a clap of cracking lightning illuminates them and the shadows she throws into the room. Gladion looks up instantly, his frown creasing the second he sees Moon. "What are you doing in _my_ room?"

Moon is tempted to take a step back, but she stays collected. "I was told this room was empty. What are _you_ doing here?"

Gladion looks away from her, grunting a curse she can't quite hear. Right by him, Type:Null is lying on the floor. Other times, the chimera would have tried to fend her off, be it by Gladion's orders or the chimera's reservations; this time, both of them are quiet.

It doesn't take her much to find out why. Moon hesitantly flicks the lights of the room on, and she smothers a gasp against her mouth. "Is that–"

"We're fine," he snaps, albeit doing little to hide the crimson liquid dripping from his arm. If Moon squints, she can see the scarlet residue on Type:Null's hooks, turning brown as it dries. "Get out of here. This isn't your business."

Moon gulps. It shouldn't surprise her that Gladion is being so crass, but she refuses to back down this time. "You might have intimidated Hau the other day, but that's not gonna work with me– especially now that you're, um, bleeding."

"What is it to you?" he asks in a hoarse, shaky voice. "This is nobody's business but my own, and this is _my_ room."

By his side, Type:Null releases a small, pained growl, and that's all Moon needs to move. However, the second she's right in front of Type:Null, Gladion drags himself before it, shielding the creature with his own body like somebody's about to take it away.

"Gladion," Moon calls, as softly as she can. "I'm not gonna hurt your Pokémon. I promise."

"How am I supposed to trust you?" Gladion asks, much more vicious than necessary. As he probably expected, she stays still, waiting for him to keep talking, give her a reason to leave. "This– This is _my_ Pokémon. And _this_ –" he vaguely gestures at Type:Null, wincing, "is _my_ problem, not yours. You're doing the Island Challenge. What I do with Type:Null is my issue. I'll find a way to cure its wounds. This isn't the worst we've been through."

The pain in that last phrase makes her heart shrink. Moon takes a deep breath, trying to not be won over by the violent glare in his eyes.

"I don't know what you've been through, and I know you have no reason to trust me," Moon begins, hesitant. She sinks to her feet, crouching before Gladion and Type:Null. "But I know you don't wanna see Type:Null in pain, and I don't want to see it in pain either. All I want is to help, and if you let me, I can dress your wounds, too."

A low growl reverberates from his chest. "We're from Team Skull, remember? You shouldn't be helping us."

"I know."

"And you still want to help us, even though we're going to get in your way no matter where you go?"

Moon grins at him, though she knows she shouldn't. "I beat your Pokémon once, I can beat them again. And if you want us to have a fair battle next time, you need to let me take a look at Type:Null. I'm not gonna accept no for an answer. Not when it looks like this."

His eyes widen. Moon continues staring at him, trying to not look at the awful blood that's dripping on the floor, trying to not think of the many times this must have happened to them, trying not to feel pity for this jerk–

"Fine," he says sharply, scooting away from Type:Null. He sits against the wall, studying her as she draws closer to the Pokémon. "Cure its wounds and leave. It shouldn't take that long."

Moon hovers over Type:Null. She can't see it that well in the dim lights of the room, but there's a pink residue clinging to Type:Null's thick fur. Somebody – most probably Gladion – has tried to apply something else to the wound, but it appears to have done little to help.

"I know it's not my business," she begins, knowing already that it's a terrible idea to ask, "but what exactly happened?"

"If you know it's not your business why do you ask?"

"Because I need to know if you tripped with a vine or something and I need to apply an antidote, too. And I have the right to ask considering I'm trying to help out."

Moon takes out some of her medical appliances. When Type:Null hears Moon opening the bottle, it hisses and tries to shift away from her, but Moon pets its back until it relaxes.

"As I said earlier, I'm not gonna hurt you, okay?" Null eyes her warily. The dull color in its eyes is shudder-inducing. "If you don't want it to still hurt tomorrow, I'm gonna need you to let me help you."

Type:Null stares at her. For a split second, Moon feels as though it might pounce on her; there's this low growl vibrating from within the chimera, like it's getting ready to attack her.

Much to her relief, Type:Null gives in and then relaxes on the floor, letting Moon work.

As she focuses on the task at hand, she feels Gladion watching her very carefully. His glares are always intense, vivid, and vigilant, making her wonder what they could have gone through to reach this state– a state of perpetual vigilance. Of distrust. Of fear.

He sighs, raspy and tired. "Did you know there's a pretty big flock of Pikipek in Lush Jungle?"

"Yeah."

"Null was a little out of control today and threw a tantrum. I tried to calm Null down and it ended up hurting me in the process." Gladion looks elsewhere as he says this. "It almost killed one of those Pikipeks in a fit of anger and the leading Toucannon got angry. I was able to recall Null into its ball and flee before things got uglier."

Her heart stills altogether. From their first battle, Moon had known Type:Null to be a violent monster, but the thought of a Pokémon trying to slaughter another Pokémon is terrifying. "Type:Null tried to _kill_ a Pokémon?"

"It tried to kill _me_ the first time we met." A pause. The rain fills in the space, and Type:Null groans in complaint as Moon begins to disinfect the wound. Gladion sighs. "I didn't want it to do something it would regret in the future. It's… it's normal."

Moon nearly drops the cotton in fright. " _This_ is normal? Your Pokémon hurting you and trying to consciously _kill_ is normal?"

"You, of all people, wouldn't understand any of this," he says. He sounds irritated, but not at her necessarily. "You would never understand."

He sounds bitter, rough. There's a lot behind those words that she can't pinpoint, so many feelings she's scared to ask about. "You can always ask Professor Kukui for help. He might know how to get the helmet off."

Something akin to a sigh blows inside the helmet. It's so coarse, so rough to the touch and so ugly Moon can't help but think it looks _wrong_ on the creature.

She turns to Gladion again. "Can I ask something?"

"Are you going to waste your time asking me things that aren't your business?"

As always, Moon disregards his question and takes out a Potion, spraying it gently on Type:Null's skin. "Why is Type:Null wearing a helmet? I don't think it's part of its anatomy, right?"

"That's none of your business," Gladion says. Moon sighs, unsurprised by his evasiveness. "It's there for a reason. That's all you need to know."

Arceus, he's such a jerk. Moon is beginning to question why she offered him her help when he's not even grateful for her time. She's tempted to leave them there, but something else is making her stay.

"Believe it or not, unlike the people you got for teammates, I care about my Pokémon." Moon thinks of her little Rowlet, sleeping in its Pokéball. "I care about all Pokémon I see, and I don't like seeing Pokémon or _people_ in pain. Type:Null doesn't look happy with that helmet, and I wanna think you didn't put that thing on him because you seem to care about your Pokémon as much as I care about mine." Moon surveys Type:Null's wound, watching as it begins to close. "It's not my business, but I don't like to see those around me suffer."

For once, Gladion seems to have nothing to say and remains quiet. She can feel his eyes on her, making sure she's not hurting Type:Null. She wonders if he thinks she's like that angry Toucannon, trying to hurt him. She wonders why he's so reluctant to let other people help, and _why_ Gladion is so secretive to begin with.

"I didn't put the helmet on Null," he mutters, as though he's surrendering. "I don't like the helmet either, but it's there for a reason. And I live with Null– I know it's in pain." Moon hears him shift in his seat, trying to get comfortable. "Neither of us like the pain."

Moon turns to Gladion. He's looking out the window, and for once, Moon finds him to be more vulnerable than unkind. Gladion's eyes are devoid of a frown for once, watching the storm almost quietly, calmly.

There's something inexplicably unsettling about watching a man as brooding as Gladion take it all in silence. She wonders how much of it could be real, how much of it could be her imagination, and how much could be raw pain.

Gladion turns to her again, and much to her horror, catches her staring. "Are you done?"

Moon turns to Type:Null again. The wound has closed, only leaving a patch of thinner hair behind. Moon carefully caresses the spot, and Null only growls slightly in response, accepting the dull pain.

Moon rewards Type:Null for its good behavior, petting it on the helmet. "There you go, good boy. You're set."

When Moon crawls a little closer to him, holding a roll of bandages, he's retreating. "Leave. You cured its wounds, I can manage mine on my own. Get out already."

"But–"

" _Get out_."

Accepting defeat this time, Moon sighs and gets up, leaving the bandages right in front of him before walking away. However, she doesn't exit the room just yet and rummages through her purse again for supplies.

She leaves some disinfectant and a couple of beans for Type:Null. Even as she draws away from him and closer to the door, she knows he's watching her, and when she looks up, their eyes lock for longer than she'd like to admit. He's quietly staring at her, and Moon wants to think there's a 'thank you' in the lack of insults prior to her leave.

Moon nods. Gladion nods back in acknowledgment, and Moon opens the door.

**Author's Note:**

> no good titles head empty one-word titles only aaaaaaaa
> 
> also wow Mirai writing something short???? in the canon world??????? who am I >:0


End file.
